The invention relates to a warm drinking water conduit system according to the preamble of claim 1.
There are known drinking water conduit systems which have hitherto not sufficiently ensured that, above all, microorganisms harmful to health, in particular legionellae, do not multiply in warm drinking water. This applies mainly to relatively large conduit systems with central drinking water heater/store, where there may be stagnant water with temperatures of between 30xc2x0 C. and 45xc2x0 C.
When water contaminated in this way with legionellae is extracted from the conduit system, for example, by showers, whirlpools or air-conditioning systems in which breathable aerosols are formed, there is known to be a considerable risk of influenza-like illnesses and pneumonia.
It is known that legionellae are killed above 50xc2x0 C. and that the killing time decreases with an increase in temperature.
The object of the invention, therefore, is to design a warm drinking water system of the above type, in such a way that, when warm drinking water is extracted, the risk of illness caused by microorganisms, in particular legionellae, can be largely ruled out. At the same time, thermal disinfection is to be capable of being implemented by means which are simple in terms of hydraulics and regulation and are easy to operate, while the investment costs can be kept comparatively low under energy-optimized conditions. In this context, the idea on which the invention is based is to keep the drinking water heater/storage tank constantly tied into the warm water circulation circuit, the circulation temperature being maintained at a level such that the warm drinking water in the warm water conduit system can be kept largely free of microbacteria, in particular legionellae, and such that the tank can be thermally disinfected by rota, during a relatively short time span, in a substantially reduced conduit branch by means of an increased circulation temperature.
The object is achieved, according to the invention, by means of the defining features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments may be gathered from the features of the subclaims and from the following description.